This Frog Hadn't Been Seen in the Wild Since 1962

'Cave squeaker' is found in Zimbabwe
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 5, 2017 7:45 AM CST
A Frog Feared Extinct Just Turned Up
Meet the “cave squeaker."   (Francois Becker)

The cave squeaker is back. Researchers in Zimbabwe say they have found a rare frog that hasn't been seen in decades, reports AP. The Artholeptis troglodytes, also known as the "cave squeaker" because of its preferred habitat, was discovered in 1962, but there were no reported sightings after that. In fact, an international "red list" of threatened species tagged them as critically endangered and possibly extinct in the wild. But Robert Hopkins, a researcher at the natural history museum in Bulawayo city, said his team had found four specimens of the frog in its known habitat of Chimanimani, a mountainous area in the east.

The team found the first male specimen on Dec. 3 after following an animal call that they had not heard before, Hopkins said. They then discovered another two males and a female. Hopkins said he been looking for the cave squeaker for eight years. "I was not with my team when they were found. I was at the base. I can no longer climb the mountains as I am 75," Hopkins said. Researchers plan to breed more frogs with the ones taken from their habitat and then reintroduce them to the mountain summit. The frog is tiny and light brown with dark spots. (More discoveries stories.)

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